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Jan
13

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Breastaurants Booming As The Restaurant Industry Struggles

Category: Food Retail, Hooters, Retail Articles, Retail Stories Tags: , , Leave a Comment

tilted kilt

For many Americans, it’s becoming less appealing to take the time to sit down to an uninspiring pasta dish, a bland hamburger or a plate of once-frozen wings at a middle-brow restaurant chain.

But serve that burger with a side of cleavage, and the crowds come pouring in.

Sales at the Tilted Kilt, Twin Peaks and Brick House, casual eateries featuring scantily clad waitresses, have grown at a double-digit pace over the last year, according to projections from Technomic, a food market research firm. At the same time, sales limped along at most big restaurant chains like Olive Garden and TGI Friday’s.

chart

Sales at “breastaurants” have thrived even while more generic sit-down chains struggle. (Data from Technomic)

The so-called “breastaurants” take inspiration from Hooters, the 30-year-old chain known for big-breasted waitresses wearing short shorts and oddly orange pantyhose. But today’s cleavage chains have updated the concept with fresher-looking spaces and menus better suited to today’s young people who are increasingly interested in artisanal food and craft beer.

Twin Peaks, dubbed the foodie’s breastaurant, makes all of its dishes from scratch — no frozen wings. The menu, which is locally sourced, features sophisticated twists on classic bar food like venison chili, blackened fish tacos and wings with an optional topping of green chili parmesan sauce.

Of course, the menu also highlights the restaurant’s “well-built sandwiches”: The waitresses wear miniscule shorts and tiny plaid shirts that tie just below the chest, exposing their midriffs.

“Men are simple creatures and so you don’t have to get too crazy to get them in the door,” said Kristen Colby, the chain’s senior director of marketing, adding that all it takes is an ice cold beer, sports on TV and beautiful girls.

“We know we’re not for everybody and that’s okay,” she said, noting that other casual dining chains have struggled in part because they’re trying to be all things to all people.

At the Titled Kilt, where “the beer never looked so good,” three-quarters of the customers are men. The restaurant’s waitresses wear sexy Celtic-inspired uniforms of short plaid skirts and skimpy white shirts. Company founder Mark DiMartino dreamed up the costumes, which are influenced by the Catholic schoolgirl look, according to Ron Lynch, the company’s president. “All of us guys had a crush on a cute girl in school and obviously he had crushes on the cute girls with plaid skirts,” Lynch said of DiMartino.

Lynch said he “shudders” when he hears the chain lumped into the “breastaurant” category because he finds the term degrading to women. He sees his chain, which started in Las Vegas, channelling the original TGI Friday’s, with its “outrageous” staff, uniforms covered in pins and the “flair” made infamous by the 1999 movie “Office Space.”

tilted kilt

It’s no secret, of course, that sex sells. It also comes with a big helping of controversy and criticism.

The restaurants create an environment that exacerbates an already prevalent problem, said Liz Watson, the director of workplace justice for women at the National Women’s Law Center. The restaurant industry is notoriously rife with sexual harassment — nearly 80 percent of female servers say they’ve been harassed on the job, according to a report released last year by Restaurant Opportunities United, a restaurant worker advocacy group.

It’s especially a problem for women who work for tips, Watson said.

“The fact that womens’ wages are coming in from customers is already making them vulnerable to harassment,” she said. “It’s only being compounded by these types of restaurants.”

Some workers see it differently. Taylor Fogerty, a former Hooters waitress, has blogged about how she doesn’t see her former job at Hooters as anti-feminist. Instead, she said she was just “using the world of female objectification” to her advantage.

“Obviously there were some creeps, but I think you get creeps at any waiting job you go to,” she said in an interview iwth The Huffington Post, noting that the tips are usually better at a place like Hooters because servers are encouraged to spend time with customers. “You have the girls that you work with, it almost feels like a sorority. You’re all together sharing this experience.”

Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill is the self-proclaimed “only breastaurant in America.” (The chain has trademarked the term, though it is used in the industry to describe the category of restaurants more generally.) Doug Guller, the chain’s CEO, came under fire last month after the TV show “Undercover Boss” showed him axing a bartender who wore a T-shirt instead of a bikini and offering to pay for another employee’s breast augmentation surgery.

But a little attention was probably good for business. The chain has seen an uptick in sales since the episode aired, owing largely to the exposure, Guller told HuffPost. He believes that some of the criticism he received was unfair, noting that it wasn’t just a waitress’ refusal to wear a bikini that got her fired — she was also over-serving alcohol to a customer. Regarding the other incident, he says it was the waitress, not him, who first brought up the possibility of getting a breast augmentation.

The headlines gave the wrong impression that “I just hand out free boobs like water,” he said. Guller said his chain takes a more direct approach than others, embracing the “breastaurant” moniker to lure its target customers, men between the ages of 25 and 55.

“We’re just a little bit more straightforward,” he said.

Restaurant chains with modestly clad, co-ed servers have been struggling since the Great Recession began. Darden, the parent company of Olive Garden, has been throwing everything but the pasta at the wall to try and turn things around. Applebee’s and TGI Friday’s have tried to lure diners in with loyalty programs and free food to turn around sluggish sales.

Hooters, the grandmother of breastaurants, also has faced difficulties in recent years. According to Darren Tristano, an executive vice president at Technomic, the chain was distracted from its core business by fluctuating ownership and a focus on things like international expansion and a now-defunct affiliated airline. But Hooters is now revamping many of its restaurants and has had a stable management team in place for three years, which has helped the chain outperform the restaurant industry overall.

Hooters’ newer competitors are doing even better, thanks in large part to the struggles of other casual dining chains. As restaurants like Bennigan’s and Ruby Tuesday abandoned their locations during the recession, Tilted Kilt, Twin Peaks and others snapped them up, revamped the spaces and opened sports bar-themed eateries with pretty servers, according to Tristano.

“We saw the millennial consumer who was growing up going to these restaurants because they had cold beer, good food,” said Tristano. “And the price points, like the servers, were very attractive.”

Sourced from huffingtonpost.com

 

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Jan
11

By

20 Of The Best Retail Companies To Work For

Category: Best Retail Companies to work for, Interesting Facts, Publix, Retail Articles, Retail Stories, wegmans, Whole Foods Tags: , , 1 Comment

Every fourth quarter, the retail industry beefs up its ranks with thousands of seasonal employees to assist with the holiday shopping frenzy. If you’re still looking for work, here’s where to apply.

The holiday shopping season is just around the corner, so we asked our partners at Great Rated!, the pre-eminent workplace review site maintained by Great Place to Work, to compile a list of the best companies offering jobs in retail. Their research team surveyed thousands of current retail employees to find out what makes them happiest.

At the top of their likes: advancement potential, flexible scheduling, and health insurance options — three things not usually associated with retail jobs. The companies mentioned here are split 50/50 with full-time and part-time workers. But landing a job with them won’t be easy. Over the past 12 months, these 20 companies filled 196,943 positions from a total of more than 3 million applications — a slim 6% success rate. So in other words, good luck.
Courtesy of PR Newswire — DSW Inc.

CustomInk

Courtesy CustomInk

Headquarters: Fairfax, V.A.
Revenue: $171 million
Employees: 1,113
Number of locations: 6

Great Rated! review

This T-shirt printing company focuses on keeping employees happy and healthy. Each office has game rooms and fitness rooms equipped with treadmills, an elliptical trainer, fitness balls, yoga mats and weights. A rich benefits package covers 99% of team members’ health insurance premiums. And when staff is needed for busy weekend hours, the company offers weekend bonuses to anyone who volunteers to work—ranging from $150 to $300 per day —in addition to planned overtime. Team members also enjoy weekly catered meals, and when Inkers work a late night, dinner is ordered in.

Build-a-Bear Workshop

Photograph by Gustavo Caballero — Getty Images for Build-a-Bear

Best Companies rank: 63
Headquarters: St. Louis
Revenue: $379 million
Employees: 4,264
Number of locations: 242

Great Rated! review

During the busy holiday season, the personalized stuffed animal retailer delivers treats, lunches, and prizes to its hardworking store employees. These can include company items, drinks, and small cash bonuses. All employees can take a paid day off on their birthdays, and team members at headquarters find their desks decorated and adorned with snacks. Employees receive a special Collectibear on their anniversaries with the company, along with additional gifts for milestone years. Staffers can take advantage of the company’s concierge service, which helps handle chores like dry cleaning, oil changes, and more. Dogs brought to the company’s headquarters even have services of their own, including discounted grooming, day care, and a bus service to take them there.

QuikTrip

Photograph by Shane Bevel — Bloomberg via Getty Images

Best Companies rank: 48
Headquarters: Tulsa
Revenue: $12.5 billion
Employees: 16,864
Number of locations: 724

Great Rated! review

The convenience store and gas station chain uses mystery shoppers to evaluate employee performance. Those who receive a perfect score get a $50 bonus on their next paycheck. After one year of employment, workers are given 10 days of vacation and holidays. Eligible workers are able to buy into an employee stock ownership plan, and each year, both full-time and part-timer permanent employees receive a holiday bonus tied to their years of service. QuikTrip also has health clinics available for employees and their immediate family members and arranges employee discounts at various fitness centers.

Nugget Market

Courtesy of Shawn Hall/Nugget Market, Inc

Best Companies rank: 36
Headquarters: Woodland, Calif.
Revenue: $275 million
Employees: 1,213
Number of locations: 14

Great Rated! review

The California-based grocery store chain pays 100 percent of the health insurance premiums for employees and 82 percent for their dependents. Employees also receive a 10 percent discount on groceries. The company recognizes good work with parties, cash gifts and awards. Each store names an associate of the month, who can spin the wheel for cash prizes, and an associate of the year, which comes with a cash award. All associates who work at the store that wins the annual President’s Cup receive bonuses. All stores have a large, flat-screen monitor that displays notices, information, event details and messages from the CEO.

Wegmans Food Markets

Photograph by Suzanne Kreiter — Boston Globe via Getty Images

Best Companies rank: 12
Headquarters: Rochester, N.Y.
Revenue: $7 billion
Employees: 43,611
Number of locations: 85

Great Rated! review

With a majority of its workers in college, Wegmans allows those who need time off to finish school or tend to family needs to change their work hours as needed, using an online scheduling tool. Depending on their jobs, some employees may work a full-time schedule in four days rather than five. Company scholarships are available to help earn a degree. Full-time employees receive 50 percent of their tuition, with a maximum of $1,100 per semester for a total possible reward of $8,800 per employee over four years. Part-time employees receive 50 percent of their tuition, with a maximum of $750 per semester for a total of $6,000 over four years. Since the program’s inception in 1984, Wegmans has awarded more than $90 million in tuition reimbursement to more than 28,400 employees.

The Container Store

Photograph by RJ Sangosti — Denver Post via Getty Images

Best Companies rank: 28
Headquarters: Coppell, T.X.
Revenue: 748 million
Employees: 6,000
Number of locations: 68

Great Rated! review

Though it only hires 3% of applicants (last year 49,441 people applied for 348 jobs), those who land a full-time sales job working for the organizational retailer have the opportunity to make an average of $50,000 a year. On average, the store looks to fill 40-50 positions for each new store opening. Among its expansion plans for 2015: three new stores in Arizona and a location in Overland Park, Kansas.

CarMax

Photograph by Patrick T. Fallon — Bloomberg via Getty Images

Best Companies rank: 54
Headquarters: Richmond, V.A.
Revenue: $12.6 billion
Employees: 20,000
Number of locations: 141

Great Rated! review

The U.S.’s largest used car retailer prioritizes employee recognition. Employees who go “above and beyond” can receive a $1,000 bonus and are treated to a pizza party at their store. Honoroble mentions get a $100 gift card and are named in the company newsletter. Top associates win a membership in the Director’s Club; the strongest performers are inducted into the President’s Club and are invited to a gala dinner and treated to two nights in Las Vegas. Company holidays are often celebrated together, with cookouts held on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and New Year’s.

JM Family Enterprises

Courtesy of JM Family Enterprises, Inc.

Best Companies rank: 37
Headquarters: Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Revenue: $12.5 billion
Employees: 3,771
Number of locations: 27

Great Rated! review

Employees of this family-owned Toyota dealership receive a share of company profits through an incentive bonus awarded each December as well as a defined-benefit pension: the company also contributes up to 15% of compensation into their profit-sharing plan and 401(k)s. Managers also thank hard-working employees on the spot with $75 gift cards and larger bonus checks of $250 to $1,500. The company offers onsite health clinics and a 24-hour physician help line, and subsidized meals are available to employees at five onsite cafes. Employee recognition awards often come with trips to resort destinations via the company’s private jet or its founder’s megayacht. Employees with 10 years at the company (and every five years afterward) are given a weekend at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. Those who’ve been with the company 25 years or longer are invited to fly there on the private plane.

L.L. Bean

Photograph by Pat Wellenbach — AP

Headquarters: Freeport, M.E.
Revenue: $1.6 billion
Employees: 4,966
Number of locations: 50

Great Rated! review

The clothing retailer’s Bean’s Best program celebrates workers who go the extra mile. Company leaders and co-workers parade through the office while wearing funny hats and cheering. The parade continues through the office or retail location until it stops in front of honorees, who received a catered reception, personalized video tributes, and gifts. All employees are encouraged to experience the outdoors with company-planned excursions for hiking, sea kayaking, camping, cycling, and snowshoeing. The Employee Use Room lends gear and sporting goods for free and some equipment for a small fee. L.L. Bean also owns and maintains seven camps and 10 tent sites on Maine’s Rangeley Lake, where employees can win discounted stays with their families via a company lottery.

Publix Super Markets

Photograph by Luke Sharrett — Bloomberg via Getty Images

Best Companies rank: 75
Headquarters: Lakeland, Fla.
Revenue: $29 billion
Employees: 167,367
Number of locations: 1,097

Great Rated! review

One of the nation’s largest privately owned companies, the grocer is 100% employee-owned by more than 119,000 worker-participants in its employee stock ownership plan. Its common shares are not traded on any stock exchange and are given to active employees, who also have the option to buy more. The company celebrates employee recognition with an array of awards, ranging from dinners for years of service through prizes for pharmacy excellence and safe driving. Publix also arranges employee discounts for prescription drugs, cruise vacations, and tax preparation.

Sheetz

Photograph by Michael S. Williamson — The Washington Post/Getty Images

Best Companies rank: 87
Headquarters: Altoona, P.A.
Revenue: $6.9 billion
Employees: 16,000
Number of locations: 485

Great Rated! review

The convenience store chain, which has 485 locations in six Mid-Atlantic states, gives employees a 50% discount on all made-to-go food and specialty coffee drinks. During work hours, coffee and fountain drinks are free. All employees receive bonuses based on their store’s profitability and performance in quality assurance and customer service. In 2013, annual bonuses averaged $345 for salespeople, $784.80 for shift supervisors, $2,544 for assistant managers and $20,960 for store managers — totaling more than $41.5 million. The company offers myriad training opportunities that allow entry-level hourly workers to move up and become shift supervisors, assistant managers, and managers. Sheetz says 68% of its store managers started off in entry-level positions.

Zappos.com

Courtesy of Zappos.com

Best Companies rank: 38
Headquarters: Las Vegas
Revenue: $2.6 billion
Employees: more than 1,440
Number of locations: 4

Great Rated! review

The online shoe retailer owned by Amazon offers various personal services and conveniences to employees: onsite laundry service, car washes, fitness classes, educational seminars, lunch and learns, the list goes on and on. An adoption benefit program reimburses new parents up to $6,000 for adoption-related expenses and allocated paid time off. Pet owners can adopt dogs and cats with no adoption fee and have access to discounted pet insurance. The company’s employee assistance program can also help find pet sitters and walkers.

Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI)

Photograph by Elaine Thompson — AP

Best Companies rank: 69
Headquarters: Kent, W.A.
Revenue: $2 billion
Employees: 10,440
Number of locations: 138

Great Rated! review

The outdoor and adventure gear retailer is organized as a co-op and has a profit-sharing plan that rewards employees with extra earnings of up to 15 percent of their annual base pay (5% guaranteed and up to 10% based on company profit). All employees can receive a 50% subsidy for public transit and bike commuters have access to showers, towels, lockers, and bicycle storage at most locations. The company encourages employees with $300 challenge grants, which can be used for REI products or activities. Last year, some recipients backpacked in the High Sierras, paddled in the Everglades, and ran a marathon in Thailand.

Whole Foods Market

Photograph by Ty Wright — Bloomberg via Getty Images

Best Companies rank: 44
Headquarters: Austin
Revenue: $12.9 billion
Employees: 76,726
Number of locations: 422

Great Rated! review

New hires at the food retailer must be approved by their future co-workers, who get a chance to vote on their employment and submit written feedback to the job candidates. The company’s open book policy shares financial information with everyone, including sales figures from other stores. Employees and their families get a 20% discount on store purchases and health-conscious team members can get a further discount of up to 30%. In addition to health insurance benefits, the company pays $300 to $1,800 to full-timers, who can use that money to cover co-pays or other health expenses.

DSW

Courtesy of PR Newswire — DSW Inc.

Headquarters: Columbus, O.H.
Revenue: $2.4 billion
Employees: 10,132
Number of locations: 432

Great Rated! review

Buyers for the Designer Shoe Warehouse attend Merchant University, a six- to 12-month program to prep them for their new role. The company offers career mapping to help employees develop sales skills and toward a promotion. Some locations have special amenities to meet the needs of its staff. Staffers are awarded points for anniversaries and a job well done, which can then be used to buy gifts, such as electronics, jewelry, and furniture. Headquarters has a fitness center with group classes and personal trainers and an onsite company cafeteria that serves breakfast and lunch.

Pro Athlete

Courtesy of Pro Athlete, Inc.

Headquarters: Kansas City
Employees: 72
Number of locations: 1

Great Rated! review

Sporting goods retailer has an onsite pool, batting cage, weight room, and chef to cook healthy meals for employees every day, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The onsite fitness center also includes a physical trainer and yoga teacher, weight and cardio rooms, sauna, hot tub, and basketball and racquetball courts. Employees receive recognition awards for years of service. Those who reach the five-year mark receive a paid trip for four to Orlando along with tickets to Disney World.

Room & Board

Photograph by Wendy Maeda — Boston Globe via Getty Images

Headquarters: Golden Valley, Minn.
Revenue: $340 million
Employees: 811
Number of locations: 24

Great Rated! review

The furniture retailer is flexible when it comes to employees taking time off. There’s no limit to the vacation days—as along as no one abuses the privilege. A career transition program allows workers in physically challenging jobs to find work that might be less demanding; the company provides training and covers the costs associated with making a career switch. Employees also have access to a wellness manager, a financial planner, and a personal trainer.

Etsy

Courtesy of Etsy

Best Medium-Size Companies rank: 19
Headquarters: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Employees: 484
Number of locations: 3

Great Rated! review

Employees at this online marketplace for artisanal and handmade goods enjoy locally sourced catered lunches every Tuesday and Thursday and received a $100 gift card to design their own workspaces. Colleagues teach each other different skills via the onsite Etsy School, which hosts a variety of curricula from music theory to cooking to electronics hacking. Employees also hang out together outside of work—the annual company ski trip is known as EtSki. The company also hosts an annual Hack Week, where staff put aside their regular work and focus on collaborating across teams to work on inspiring projects.

Goodmans Interior Structures

Photograph by Ken Easley

Headquarters: Phoenix
Revenue: $60 million
Employees: 145
Number of locations: 4

Great Rated! review

This dealer of office furniture focuses on maintaining a healthy workforce. Its GoodBlance wellness program allows employees to earn paid time off for meeting goals in a weight management challenge, as well as one-on-one coaching to share exercises and address risk factors. Bi-weekly massages are also available onsite.

ZOZI

Courtesy of ZOZI

Headquarters: San Francisco
Employees: 44
Number of locations: 1

Great Rated! review

There’s no set vacation policy at this active lifestyle retailer, which sells gear and organizes trips and local experiences via the web. The founder answers questions during monthly town halls meetings. Staff get unlimited time off and $1,600 each year to spend on company products and team members are encouraged to nominate colleagues for gift cards for good work. Every team member also received $1,200 per year for professional development, which can be spent on classes, conferences, books, and seminars.

Sourced from fortune.com

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Dec
31

By

Meet Four Working Moms Who Fought For Higher Wages

Category: Life as a Server, Retail Articles, Retail Stories Tags: , , Leave a Comment

Mothers struggling to get by on low wages made headlines in 2014. Some got in trouble for leaving their children in a car or on a playground while they worked because they couldn’t afford child care. Politicians highlighted the plight of low-wage working women in stump speeches. And Walmart moms protested for better pay and working conditions.

The news stories were reminders of how single moms acutely feel the pain of the low-wage economy. Women make up the majority of minimum-wage workers, and theyhave been disproportionately affected by what has for years been a part-time, low-wage recovery. A single mom making the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hourmust work 125 hours a week to afford food, shelter and child care for two kids, according to MIT’s Living Wage calculator.

Of course, many of these issues existed long before 2014. And there’s little sign the situation will change dramatically for these women in the years to come: The low-wage jobs the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts will have the fastest growth through 2022 are female-dominated.

Beyond the headlines, there are stories of daily struggle that don’t get nearly as much attention — getting dinner on the table before heading to work or finding a friend to watch the kids during weekend shifts.

The women whose stories you’ll read below are trying to make a difference by keeping the world focused on the problems of women in low-wage jobs once the news cameras have moved on. All have taken part in campaigns to raise wages for low-wage workers. They’ve protested at fast food restaurants and helped sign people up to vote. Their efforts — along with other demonstrations, protests and outcry — have had an impact:Twenty states will raise their minimum wages on New Year’s Day.

Nakima Jones, 37, waitress, living in New York City with three kids :

nakema
Nakima Jones at a rally for restaurant workers in September.

I’ve been in the industry for 13 years. I’ve been having it hard since I started. Sexual harassment is one of my big issues. I’m a big-breasted woman, so that was one of the only ways that I could get certain things. Why do I have to be so nice to you get a good tip? Why do you have to say “hey baby how are you doing? Take my number”? If I don’t take it, that means I’m not going to get a good tip, and they still would leave you a bad tip anyway. I did all that nice stuff for no reason.

I’m here to work, make money and leave. I’m not doing no extra. If I want that section I should be able to get it if I come in on time and do what I need to do.

I have kids, you have to learn how to respect yourself.

My kids go to school in the daytime and I try to usually work in the evenings. By the time I go to work, they’re home, they’re settled and I’ve cooked dinner for them.

I make all the money in my family, it’s just me. I’m a single parent — that’s another thing that’s hard.

Why do I have to keep getting $5 an hour? We deserve better. There are a lot of people that are afraid to speak up. If we’re here standing strong, why can’t the government help us out?

Patrice Dandridge, 44, home health aide living in Chicago. Has a 26-year-old daughter:

patrice
Patrice Dandridge.

I just love helping people in every way possible. Being a health care aide, you’re helping people that can’t help themselves. I have three clients that I help.

I don’t make minimum wage, I make $10 an hour. It’s still not much, it’s not easy for me to get by, with the cost of living going up all the time. You can’t find an apartment that you can keep up with your rent earning $10 an hour. My expenses are more than I make. I can bring home $1,200 a month, rent is $700, light and gas is $100 apiece, and we’re not even talking about cell phone bills and other personal expenses.

[Growing up], my daughter spent a lot of time with my mom, and eventually my mom and I decided to let my daughter stay with her because I couldn’t afford to take care of both of us because of my income. Thank God for my mom of course.

Politicians basically look out for the middle class and the upper class, and they support them more. I just complained about it, and I finally realized that I can complain all day long, but I have to start doing something more. It takes a community to come together to get what we want. Until the community can come together, then politicians aren’t really going to listen.

Paola Cabrera, 28, fast food worker living in New York City with her two kids:

Story told in Spanish through a translator.

poala
Paola Cabrera with her three-year-old daughter.

For a year I lived at a shelter on 28th Street and Fifth Avenue. It only had a microwave and a refrigerator. The little that I earned at McDonald’s was just enough to buy food. As the head of my household they don’t give me enough. I earn $170 weekly. It’s really hard for me when my kids ask for a toy and I can’t buy it for them. It’s heartbreaking.

I want to provide as much as I can. Every month I get $140 in food stamps. I also get $100 every two weeks in cash assistance. That’s not enough living in the shelter where everything is so expensive around me. I can’t save up to make more. Living in New York is a constant struggle.

I used to work in assisted living. I couldn’t make it to interviews to renew my license because I couldn’t get child care. Now, I have subsidized child care. It’s really hard to get it, I spent 2 1/2 months filing paperwork. On weekends I work overnight and I don’t get to see my kids. Paying for a babysitter on a weekend is too expensive, so they usually stay with my friend.

The second week of working was when I decided things weren’t OK. That’s why I’m part of the movement now. I’ve done strikes, interviews, conferences. I’m encouraging all of my coworkers to join. A lot of them are afraid. I try to motivate them not to be afraid. It’s a free country.

I see my work at McDonald’s as just a stepping stone. I’m studying criminal justice, and I take online courses every Sunday. I want to do better and become better. Whoever I leave behind I’ll keep motivating. I’ll never stop fighting.

[Editor’s note: A representative for McDonald’s noted that about 90 percent of McDonald’s restaurants are owned by independent franchisees. “The topic of minimum wage goes well beyond McDonald’s — it affects our country’s entire workforce,” she wrote. “McDonald’s and our independent franchisees support paying our valued employees fair wages aligned with a competitive marketplace.”]

Claudia Leon, 36, maintenance worker and cashier. Lives in New York City, and her three kids live in Mexico:

Story told in Spanish through a translator.

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Claudia Leon.

I was working in a restaurant for $120 per week plus tips. I couldn’t support my family making that wage, and on top of that I had my tips stolen. I worked six days a week for eight or nine hours a day, and I didn’t have breaks. They would call me names, they would tell me I should quit my job. You end up staying there because you need to work and you need to provide. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving; I came to the U.S. four years ago from Mexico, and it was the only place I knew.

I was at the restaurant for 3 1/2 years. Now I work two jobs as a cashier and doing maintenance in an office building. I’m making triple now for fewer hours and it’s less stressful. I support my family back home and I’m their role model. The distance is very challenging, long-term my kids are going to be better off.

I protested in front of the business where I used to work. I’ve participated in the fast food campaign. I’ve testified in front of the wage and hour board. Many of us women play the role of both mother and father, and these wages aren’t enough to support families. It’s crucial for them to raise the minimum wage, especially in NYC. It’s not a salary where you can raise a family.

The accounts above have been edited for clarity.

Sourced from huffingtonpost.com

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